In 1995, a Mercedes S-Class drove itself down the German autobahn with nobody at the wheel. Europe invented the self-driving car — and then handed the entire trillion-dollar industry to Silicon Valley.
That’s not a one-off. It’s a pattern so common that economists gave it a name: Europe’s innovation paradox. World-class research, no world-class companies. This video traces that paradox through three Munich stories and three structural failures — no framework, no capital, no scale — from Project Prometheus to Quantum Systems to Helsing, Europe’s most valuable defence startup and maybe its best shot at finally breaking the cycle.
The Draghi report put it bluntly: in 50 years the EU hasn’t produced a single new company worth over $100bn. The US produced ten worth over $1 trillion. Here’s why — and what, if anything, could change it.
I don’t get it. What’s so special about 100bn $/€ companies? Isn’t it better to have multiple smaller companies than fewer bigger corporations? It’s not like big corps pay more taxes and anti trust laws don’t exiat for no reason either.